Radical Islamists splinter into more violent group

'They pose a threat to not only the Christian community but to northern Nigeria as a whole'

Michael Carl is a veteran journalist who served overseas in the U.S. Army. He has operated his own political consulting firm and worked as a press secretary for a vice presidential candidate. He also has two master's degrees, is a bi-vocational priest and lives with his family in the Northeast United States.

“Ansaru released a video last spring announcing its creation and is listed on the U.K. Terror List,” Roach said. “One of Ansaru’s suspected leaders is Khalid al-Barnawy. He is a designated terrorist in the US.”

World Threats founder and terrorism analyst Ryan Mauro says both groups are trouble.

“The two Nigerian jihadist groups are vicious. They aren’t the Muslim Brotherhood-type Islamists that put a ton of effort into showing they are friendly towards Christians,” Mauro said.

To see what Christians in northern Nigeria are facing with two major jihadist groups, Mauro says look at other jihadist regimes.

“If you want to predict how Boko Haram and Ansaru will treat Christians, look at how al-Qaida treats them in Iraq and Egypt,” Mauro said.

Roach said that the new group’s operational status definitely means danger for Christians and others.

“While this offshoot has been around less than a year, it’s fair to say that they pose a threat to not only the Christian community but to northern Nigeria as a whole. While Ansaru has attempted to differentiate itself from Boko Haram by denouncing the killing of non-Muslims, evidence suggests otherwise,” Roach said.

“Furthermore, Ansaru maintains that it will attack any group that attacks Islam or Muslims. This includes the Nigerian government and its security forces and [it] has already backed this up with action,” Roach said.

Analysts suggest Ansaru’s only interest is in attacking foreigners and “non-Muslim Nigerians.” However, Strategy World military think tank, publishers of Strategy Page, warns Ansaru may be picking targets outside Nigeria, too.

“Ansaru appears to be … more interested (than Boko Haram) in working closely with Islamic terror groups operating in the new terrorist sanctuary of northern Mali,” the Strategy Page report said.